Transparent

:

Season 2
Season #: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 141 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 92 out of 141
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 141
  3. Negative: 35 out of 141
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User Reviews

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  1. Whadafug
    Dec 14, 2015
    5
    Quite simply, Transparent was a superb single run outing... and it should have been left there. With the impetus to keep the story going, the show has lost much of what gave it merit, and as it has removed itself further from the strong themes at the heart of season 1 it has blindly meandered into the dull world of boring family drama, its only saving grace being a man in a dress.
  2. smartt
    Dec 12, 2015
    6
    This isn't a terrible show but it's just above mediocre. The rave reviews are more likely due to the PC crowd and the subject matter that is the central point of the story and not really on the merit of the show alone.
  3. RichardGonci
    Dec 20, 2015
    6
    I so loved season one. I must admit to some disappointment with season two. That's not to say it's not still in a class by itself. It's just that the primary characters, excepting Jeffrey Tambor's exquisitely wrought lead role, are written in a very unsympathetic palette of near-psychotic "colors." I am not looking for some "Pollyanna-like" resolution to crazy family dynamics, but, gosh,I so loved season one. I must admit to some disappointment with season two. That's not to say it's not still in a class by itself. It's just that the primary characters, excepting Jeffrey Tambor's exquisitely wrought lead role, are written in a very unsympathetic palette of near-psychotic "colors." I am not looking for some "Pollyanna-like" resolution to crazy family dynamics, but, gosh, would it kill the show to make a few human connections go unbroken, or at least be reparable? Cherry Jones breathes remarkable life and nuance against the 2D figures with whom she interacts. Of course, she's also a brilliant actor. Like Jon Voight's character of Mickey Donovan in "Ray Donovan," she commands the screen when she occupies even a portion of it. So, for the flashes of brilliance that endure, I will not pan this show.… Expand
  4. moothemagiccow
    Dec 17, 2015
    4
    The show seems far more interested in doing what no one else is doing than providing any semblance of a coherent story.

    "This is never shown on tv" is basically every episode in Transparent season 2. You never see someone have a miscarriage. You never see people over 65 having sex. You never see nudist lesbian woodland music festivals. You never see post-mastectomy nudity. The    The show seems far more interested in doing what no one else is doing than providing any semblance of a coherent story.

    "This is never shown on tv" is basically every episode in Transparent season 2. You never see someone have a miscarriage. You never see people over 65 having sex. You never see nudist lesbian woodland music festivals. You never see post-mastectomy nudity.

    The trouble is, that novelty doesn't make it interesting on its own. It's like a shock jock yelling out the most taboo words and calling it comedy. A series has to have more than that going on, or else it devolves into a clip show, like America's Ugliest Home Videos.

    The story basically goes nowhere. It's just a hodgepodge of bad decisions by self-obsessed characters. Relationships begin and end on a whim. Supporting characters vanish after having whole episodes focusing on them. The only compelling story is the dramatic irony of watching the main character, Maura, fear coming out to her mother, while flashbacks show her mother as more sympathetic than Maura expected. And even that is anticlimactic.    … Expand
  5. 123456
    Jan 13, 2016
    4
    Well done to this show for not only eschewing convention and having taboo topics covered, but also avoiding cliches like consistent storylines and sympathetic characters. Every single character bounces between situations, or indeed non-situations, with little real consequence, uttering tired dialogue filled with "modern" slang, and generally being dislikeable. I understand the idea thatWell done to this show for not only eschewing convention and having taboo topics covered, but also avoiding cliches like consistent storylines and sympathetic characters. Every single character bounces between situations, or indeed non-situations, with little real consequence, uttering tired dialogue filled with "modern" slang, and generally being dislikeable. I understand the idea that "hey, just because I am trans doesn't mean I need to be likeable" but it's important, at least to me, to like at least some characters in the show.

    Series 1 everyone in the family was so believably making mistakes and living with the outcomes which surrounded this fascinating journey - the writing was fresh and direct and very funny. Series 2 and the humor has been left to a woman smacking her vagina and the mispronunciation of yaas queen, and the journey has reached its destination. There is very little to actually enjoy. As the cliche goes, it's better to travel than to arrive.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best TV Season of 2015
92
#92 Most Discussed TV Season of 2015
55
#55 Most Shared TV Season of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
94

Universal acclaim - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Emily Nussbaum
    Jan 5, 2016
    100
    A TV series that makes revolutionary art seem both irresistible and inevitable.
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  2. The Atlantic
    Reviewed by: Spencer Kornhaber
    Dec 14, 2015
    100
    Its characters use politics as a pretext for making ungenerous choices, and thereby risk undermining the credibility of those politics in general. This allows Transparent to be more bracing, more challenging, and more compelling than most any other show on TV.
    Read full review
  3. Vox.com
    Reviewed by: Emily VanDerWerff
    Dec 14, 2015
    100
    Transparent's second season is the best television of the year.... Season two was an improvement in every way, small and lovely and achingly resonant.
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